A tire inflating device, particularly for inflating a bicycle tire, is known comprising an inflating head with an outlet connectable to an inflating valve of a tire and with an inlet opening for a high pressure gas cartridge containing a hollow cartridge-piercing pin and a cartridge jacket for receiving the high pressure gas cartridge connectable with the inflating head concentric to the inlet.
This tire inflating device can be used in place of a standard hand air pump and has the advantage that it is simple, requires little space and allows a rapid and effortless inflation of a bicycle tire to an appropriate high pressure. This tire inflating device is of particular advantage for cycle racers.
In a known tire inflating device described in German Open Patent Application No. DE-OS 32 05 264 the inflating head with its outlet opening is connected to the tire valve for inflation of the tire and subsequently the hollow cartridge-piercing pin is inserted in the high pressure gas cartridge by screwing on the cartridge jacket. As a result the total amount of the gases in the high pressure gas cartridge flows suddenly into the tire. The measured amount of gas required to reach the desired final pressure determines the size and type of the high pressure gas cartridge. This has the disadvantage that high pressure gas cartridges of different sizes must be made and stored for different tire dimensions. A subsequent further pressurization of the tire is not possible, nor is the use of the unit only for adding a small amount of air to the tire.